Bulkhead/Deck Reinforcement at the Hanging Locker - no more creaking.

When Windstar was being sailed you could hear creaking as the bulkhead “worked” the in overhead liner.   You could replicate this noise by firmly pushing and pulling the hand-hold at the top corner of the locker.   Furthermore, some very minor deck deflection could be detected by bouncing hard above the area.    (the deck does not yield to my 200lb elsewhere.)

Windstar is hull number 61, and the bulkhead at the aft end of the hanging locker is well tabbed to the hull, but was not secured to the deck as it is in some other 33-2s.    The bulkhead simply rests in a groove in the overhead liner, and can therefore "work" as the boat flexes.

To remedy this, it was necessary to to remove the liner inside the hanging locker, and then verify that  the balsa core and laminate were intact, especially around the fresh water fill, (which was inaccessible under the liner) and then to securely tab the deck to the bulkhead.

The photos aren’t great but they tell the story.   The water fill, locker top, hanger rod, etc were all removed, and the liner was carefully trimmed out using the Fein multitool and a bimetal blade.   The balsa core and laminate were all perfectly intact, however the putty blob used to secure the deck to the liner was cracked and the bond had failed.

Below you can see the interior of the locker, fore and aft, and can see how the boat was constructed in this area, particularly in the first photo, and how the bulkhead simply rests (restlessly) against the liner.

Below are the same views with the liner removed.   Note that I retained the inboard edge of the liner as the teak trim above the top of the hanging locker is secured there.    You can see the putty blobs used throughout the boat to bond various non-structural parts together.   You can also see that I removed the core around the deck fill.  improving the integrity of the deck around the deck fills is covered in another post.

putty removed and mostly prepped for all epoxy/glass work.

The original putty (which had cracked at the aft bulkhead) was carefully cut out and the narrow space cleaned out as best as possible, and the all surfaces were sanded and carefully prepped.The next images show the putty removed and the space between the deck and liner filled with glass filled epoxy, and next a radiused fillet of the same material added.

 And finally, the glass/epoxy tabbing was pre-laminated on sheets of waxed paper and carefully placed into to the still-wet epoxy fillets and bulkhead.  This sort of work is best done wet-on-wet as it assures a solid bond between stages.  Pics below show the layers of biaxial stitch mat laid up on a sheet of waxed paper, and then installed.

Am happy to report that the creaking has disappeared, the deck is now quite stiff.

Worth noting is that some 33-2s seem to have had the liner removed and these bulkheads tabbed in place at the factory, so I would expect that owners may have made the factory aware of this issue in early models. 

Here are some photos of Bruno L.'s 1987 33-2

To keep this in perspective, Windstar had  had seen no ill-effects or failures from this early construction method after over 30 years of use.  So, while I'm glad I did it, it was not a major structural concern.

Another storage addition.... Hatch in Nav desk footwell.

The 33-2 is not a huge boat, and this becomes evident very quickly if even a modest cruise is planned.  This is compounded by the production boat reality of the cost associated with adding access hatches and making some of the more oddly shaped bits of interior volume accesssible.   Case in point, the space under the nav station footwell.  Pics are self explanatory.
Am pleased with this addition - the volume available is surprising, and I like the idea of any opportunity to increase airflow throughout the boat.

Hatch is made by Viking products.  

Th

MAST STEP CHOCKS AND SHIMS

Mast step chocks and shims.

More fun with Shock cord- Bimini Frame

Had been annoyed for awhile with the arrangement for securing the bimini fore and aft.

As you can see, Windstar has three pieces of canvas, the dodger, the bimini, and a connector spanning the two.   The conector can only be used in harbour, as the main sheet track is in the cockpit.   As it is, the main sheet fouls the dodger slightly when running.
It's a good setup for this boat however it requires slacking and re-tensioning  the lines securing the bimini fore and aft in order to attach the connector canvas.
A perfect use for shock cord!
After puzzling this out a bit I positioned two fixed-length lines led forward.  these define the limit of rearward tilt of the bimini frame in the absence of the connector.  Below, port side.

I then added shock cord to pull the frame aft against those two fixed lines, and further added two lines parallel to the shock cord that can be tensioned with a rolling hitch.

The shock cord provides enough tension to spring-load the bimini against the connector or the forward lines, and the adjustable parallel lines define a limit of forward travel.
Works great and the bimini can now be pulled forward to operate the connector zippers, and it springs back into place when released.

LED interior lighting

Original fixture

Have been grappling with the replacement of the OEM square fixtures in Windstar, and was having trouble finding LED replacements that are:

• similar in footprint
• have a switch on board
• have a night lighting option
• are affordable.
• not more cheap/cheesy than the originals.
• Have space in the housing for the bulky butt splices used to connect OEM fixture to the boat's wiring.

 The fixture below was suggested by a fellow C&C mailing list member, he installed these as direct replacements.  His wife was made happy.  Meets all my criteria except for red night lighting.  So, I decided to purchase a bulk bag of red LEDs and see if I couldn't modify the fixture.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/7-1-2-in-x-5-in-led-interior-vehicle-light/A-p8488686e

Princess Auto, C$14.99

 The LEDs were mounted in snug fitting holes arranged around the perimeter of the light source, and the micro switch was installed at the same and as the supplied switch.  The leads were taped over when done.  It is not necessary to glue in the LEDs.

It works fine.  The SPDT switch supplied with the fixture permits wiring the LED toggle switch so that it is powered only when the fixture is off.   In other words you can't use both at the same time.   The orange/white wire is +12vdc, the black is to ground.

Modified fixture with LEDs, micro toggle switch, and resistors.

Mediocre Photos requiring no explanation, other than the hazy lens which was wet sanded to reduce glare.

 

The following website wizard simplifies the LED circuit design.  You input your parameters, it outputs a schematic.   http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

All done for around C$20 per fixture!

How to drain the ice box?

Here is a photo of Windstar's ice box drain pump.  It is a Beckson SiphonMate hand pump, mounted in a bracket below  counter.   The inlet is connected to the ice box drain, the outlet to a length of hose which is not connected to anything, but  is long enough to reach the sink.

When Windstar showed up, the self priming SiphonMate was not.  Replacing it with a new one solved the problem.   It is a simple, effective approach, however I would prefer a drain that was direct plumbed into an overboard drain rather than relying on a coiled length of hose.   Pretty low on the list of issues, and mainly,  I post this for those who would like to see the stock installation of the SiphonMate.

A recent discussion on the C&C mailing list was started by an owner with a blocked ice box drain hose, which left me puzzled.  Drain where?  The bilge?  Nasty.  Turns out there were others with the same plumbing, (a prior owners' fix?) and others who had addressed this in different ways.

Below is Lee's solution, repurposing a seawater pump and faucet.   I expect the seawater pump was a dealer option.   (Windstar has only one footpump, from the freshwater tank.)

 "I have no need to have lake water at the sink so we repurposed the pump to drain the ice box. The hose goes from bottom of ice box to foot pump at foot of sink. This pump used to pull lake water in an dispense in the sink."

 

Cockpit VHF speaker without butchery

One item on my long list of things to improve was to ensure I could hear the VHF from the helm.  I have an aversion to cutting or drilling holes in a boat, and will do whatever I can to solve a problem without doing so. (drilling holes I mean!)   In this case, the solution was fairly easy - mount the speaker in the lid of an existing access cover.
The hole was cut using a flywheel-type adjustable circle cutter on a drill press.   I clamped two pieces of MDF in the drillpress (stacked) and cut a hole  equal to the cover plate's diameter through the first piece.  Removing the cut out created a fixture in which the cover could be placed, already centred under the drill press chuck.  I then re-adjusted the cutter to the correct diameter for the speaker hole, firmly clamped the cover in its fixture, then slowly bored the second, smaller hole through the cover.    Not for the faint-hearted, but it worked fine, and any lack of concentricty is not noticeable..
 The sound  is very loud and clear, the ICOM M506 VHF has plenty of power to drive this inexpensive Polyplanar speaker.

Port side settee stowage access

A 9600 lb racer-cruiser has limited stowage for even short cruises with more than 2 people.
One of the things I dislike about the 33-2 is the way the port side fold-out double berth impedes access to the only large stowage area in the boat.  In the pretty drawings, they don't show that the under the starboard settee resides only the fresh water tank, under the V-berth resides only the holding tank, and under half of the quarter berth resides one small locker and two batteries in a difficult to access locker.     The port settee is available for stowage, BUT the drop leaf table must be dropped, the seat cushions removed, and the berth extension folded out before you can lift the covers to access the stowage.  A nuisance!   Also, it's all one big compartment so the reserve beer and wine can crush the reserve potato chips.     (Apparently the water tank was moved to this side on later production years.)  

I wanted more convenient access to this settee locker, so I decided to add some hatches as you see in the photo.  I chose Tempress 1115 (11" X 15") slam hatches.  There are others, but these are:   "as functional as they are stylish"

https://tempress.com/store/#!/Slam-Hatches/c/610306/offset=0&sort=normal

Stylish!

See below for photos, fairly self explanatory.  I used a bimetal holesaw, and my fein multimaster with a circular bimetal blade.   Next step will be a simple barrier between the two compartments.

In future the chips will meet the beer only at the time and place of my choosing!

Navigation light - cable deterioration

The SJ 16/2 cable used to connect the bow and stern running lights in Windstar has not stood the test of time.  This cable is intended as portable cordage, and has rubber-insulated conductors inside a neoprene jacket.  The conductors'  insulation is crumbling and just waiting to create a short and tripped breaker. The prince of darkness lurks...  Will post pics, it's toast, and it's now gone.  

The PVC insulation used throughout the rest of the boat is fine, it's just the length from the light, through the pulpit/pushpit to the bullet connectors below deck, where the lights connect to the harness.  (the cables in the mast were fine also, except for some wear and tear at the base of the mast.   I rewired the mast in '17 anyway.)

The neoprene cable jacket is likely in much better condition than the conductors' insulation, therefore the condition of the conductors is not evident when simply inspecting the cable from the outside.  Check the conductors themselves where they are exposed.

C&C 33ii Emergency Tiller Refinements

C&C 33ii Emergency Tiller Refinements

Update

Stowage for the emergency tiller is documented here.

Dealing with the tiller

Ok, "refinement" might be a stretch.

C&C supplied a very nicely made alloy emergency tiller with the 33ii, and designed the boat so the top of the rudder post is easily accessed.   So, dealing with steering failure should be relatively simple - just slip the tiller over the post and till away.  Right?

Well, not exactly.    The cast aluminum tiller head's bore is a very snug fit on the stainless rudder post, and in my case, due to some very minor dings on the sharp edge of the bore, it was not possible to slip it over the post at all.   Even without those dings, once started, it was not possible to fully seat the tiller by hand pressure alone.   The tiller is secured by a stainless bolt that requires two 3/4" wrenches to tighten.  These were simply taped to the tiller.  (nothing to go wrong there!)    All things considered, not what one would want to be dealing with in an emergency.

So, I filed a chamfer on the edge of the bore itself, then sanded the bore smooth(er), and waxed it.  Hopefully it will slip more readily over the post.

I had intended to replace the machine bolt on the tiller hinge with some kind of shaft and hand knob arrangement to make it tool-less, but I got to thinking about it while some varnish was drying, and and I came up with a less elegant but workable approach.  Thinking about it, I'm not sure the hand knobs would have allowed enough force to secure the tiller, and while some kind of cam screw arrangement would probably be ideal, that was too far down this rabbit hole, even for me.  Besides, the varnish was nearly dry.  

An eye strap was riveted to the tiller head and a length of shock cord installed.  (using hog rings to make secure loops)  To this, a pair of tethered wrenches was ring-hitched.   The geometry involved and the tension from the shock cord combine to secure the wrenches, while permitting them to be withdrawn from the tiller if needed.  Ugly but functional.

Next iteration is to cut the open end off the wrenches, and bore holes for the tether.   This way the wrenches can be fully inserted in the tube.  

This provided a minor lesson in metallurgy.   I cut the wrenches down with an abrasive-wheel chop saw, but drilling proved to be a challenge until I annealed the ends with a propane torch.  Easy then.  The holes were drilled, gently countersunk, and any burrs addressed with a conical bit in a Dremel.   The handles were dipped in primer, then paint.   

Canvas work, improving cockpit comfort.

Cockpit canvas upgrades

Update 

A panorama of the new-in-2019 cockpit shelter.

A dodger and bimini were must-haves on my boat acquisition checklist, and Windstar came with both.   Also included was a joiner piece to connect the two (usable only when at anchor as the mainsheet traveller is mounted on the bridge deck) and two zip-on side curtains that helped provide some shade and privacy.  Two stainless steel grab handles are mounted on the dodger frame.   Very useful.

The old canvas worked well enough underway,  however at anchor, when the connector was attached, the natural path for for rain water run off was onto the coaming and then into the cockpit.  This made the cockpit unusable in even a light drizzle, though  at least the companionway could be left open.  The side curtains were very basic and of limited benefit.  

When the dodger windows became opaque and the stitching began to fail in places, I consulted with Paul Macdonald of Bluewater Marine, and a dodger repair and a new bimini, connector, and side curtains were commissioned.

We collaborated on a new design for side curtains, much larger than before, with screening and roll-up Sunbrella rain panels.   Best of all, despite an awkward 3 way corner, where side curtain, dodger and connector meet, the rain no longer enters the cockpit at all, making for a remarkable improvement in livability.

I had also asked Paul to provide a means of securing the dodger window in the open position - flipped up and lying on the dodger roof.   

Paul is a pro who consulted thoroughly did nice work, and delivered on time. 

Bluewater Marine 

Custom Made Marine Tops/Covers

Paul MacDonald

Member I.M.F.A.

905-213-4498

bluewatermarine3@gmail.com

    

Winter Cover Frame

I posted the photos below after a discussion on snow-crushed cover frames.    Turns out that not all frames were created equal.

Windstar's frame came with the boat, not sure of its origins but it works pretty well.   Remarkably, Dennis from Quinte canvas was able to make a cover that fit very well from my emailed dimensions.

Key to the frame's strength vs the more typical backbone-and-ribs are:

•  the vertical posts supporting the backbone via a T fitting.  (same fitting as each rib half) which I tie in place at the foot so they can't move. 
• the longitudinal tubing along each side, running through a crossover fitting.  The frame is bungeed or tied to the toe rail at every crossover.   
• One of the ribs is (now) inserted into the stanchion socket.   (I figured this out this season, photos are a few years old.  You can see the 4th rib from the bow is beside a stanchion base.)

If I were to build from scratch I would size the ribs so that as many as possible could be inserted into the stanchion sockets, adding any other ribs between as necessary.

The frame pieces are stored clamped onto a length of tubing, the ribs in pairs.

I have yet to devise an part-identification system that I am happy with.

The component parts can be sourced industrially and are known as structural pipe fittings (or similar).   some links and images at the bottom of the page.

Links to the bits and pieces below are examples only:

Here is the crossover fitting

https://www.walmart.com/ip/30LX29-Structural-Pipe-Fitting-Pipe-Size-2in/44953362

:

http://www.keesafety.ca/products/kee_klamp#catalogue

https://www.easyfit.com/catalog/category/add-on_fittings

https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/en/product/CLAMP-ON-CROSSOVER-PIPE-SIZE-1-1-2/_/R-GGM4NXV8

http://www.hollaender.com/files/1/Tech_Data/Part_Drawings/12_1114.pdf